The present invention relates generally to chiropractic treatment tables of the type for generally horizontally supporting a patient in a face-down position and, more particularly, to such tables having a wide latitude of variability in orienting and moving the cervical portion of the patient's spine. With such an arrangement, a chiropractor or other practitioner can select appropriate positions and motions tailored to the particular patient's disorder of the cervical curve of the spinal column.
The treatment of various maladies of the human body by means of the manipulation of the muscles and skeletal structure thereof, commonly referred to as "chiropracty," has become a widely used and accepted art. Various apparatuses have been developed to facilitate this type of treatment, one such apparatus being an articulated treatment table. Such tables, such as, for example, the "Barnes Flexion-Distraction" manufactured by Custom Tool, Inc., Fort Wayne, Ind. typically include an elongated, padded platform or table on which a patient can recline. The table is further provided with means for securing the patient's extremities, e.g., the patient's ankles, and includes an articulated lower anterior body section which underlies the patient adjacent the lower back. The table provides means for tiltably raising and lowering (extension and flexion, respectively), laterally bending, rotating and extending the anterior body section with respect to the upper body or support section. Such treatment tables have proven to be valuable aids to the practitioner of chiropractic medicine and various treatments for patients suffering from spinal and related nerve, muscle, and skeletal maladies have been devised using such tables. Among the many options available on the tables manufactured by the assignee of the present invention have been power-driven or automated arrangements for moving the anterior body section with respect to the upper body support as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,489,714, and arrangements for tilting about a transverse horizontal axis and a headrest segment of the upper body support section of the table. Such tilting of a headrest about a transverse horizontal axis is also illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 1,938,006.
Each of the aforementioned arrangements for tilting or pivoting the headrest portion of a chiropractic table relative to the main support arrangement of that table have been limited to a single degree of freedom, namely, pivotal motion of the headrest about a transverse horizontal axis, generally separating that headrest portion from the main body of the table. Such a pivotal motion is highly desirable in treating certain disorders of the cervical portion of the spine; however, it is frequently desirable for the practitioner to be able to move the cervical portion of the spinal column in other than a simple forward tipping motion. With these prior treatment tables, such other motions could only be accomplished by the doctor physically moving the patient's head relative to the head support portion of the table. It is therefore highly desirable for the practitioner to have a wider variety of table support motions available to him.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,649,905 provides such a variety. According to that application, a patient having a disorder of the cervical curve portion of the spinal column may be treated by supporting the patient in a generally horizontal, face-down attitude on a chiropractic treatment table, with the patient's body resting on a first table portion such as a body support section, and the patient's head resting on a second table portion such as a headpiece, which is selectively movable relative to the first table portion, the practitioner thereafter simultaneously moving the patient's head and the table headpiece relative to the patient's body and the first table in a manner so that the head and body continuously remain in contact with the respective table portion and with that movement including one or more of the following motions:
rotation or pivotal motion about a horizontal, longitudinal axis passing lengthwise along the patient and through a cervical portion of the patient's spine, thus allowing a twisting motion from side-to-side to be imparted to the patient's head;
rotation or pivotal motion about a generally vertical axis extending generally perpendicular to and through a cervical portion of the patient's spine, thus allowing a lateral flexion or side-to-side head motion in a generally horizontal plane;
a tilting forward and backward or vertical flexion of the patient's head by pivotal motion of the head support about a generally horizontal transverse axis which was, prior to the present invention, the motion available with the above-noted prior art devices;
a linear translation to stretch a cervical portion of the patient's spine to induce a traction in the cervical spine portion; and
a snap action or drop wherein the headpiece executes an abrupt oblique linear translation downward and away from the main body support section of the table, imparting a stretching and forward snapping action to a cervical portion of the patent's spine.
According to applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 4,649,905, rotation or pivotal motion about a horizontal, longitudinal axis passing lengthwise along the patient and through the cervical portion of the patient's spine is accomplished by an improved mechanical coupling which includes an elongated support bar articulately coupled near one end thereof to the body support section of the table and a pair of arcuate rails fixed to the head support section and relatively movable along a pair of rail-receiving fixtures on the support bar. The rails are formed in the general configuration of portions of circles, the centers of which coincide with the longitudinal axis. The rail-receiving fixtures may include a plurality of rail-engaging rollers along with a manually actuable clamp for selectively securing the rail section to the fixture at a preferred rotational orientation of the head support section relative to the body support section. The head support, arcuate rails, and fixtures may be longitudinally movable along the support bar and the support bar articulately coupled to the body support section to provide desired traction, vertical flexion, and lateral flexion of a patient's spine portion.